Whose to give?

Reform law may bar Chapter 13 filers from tithing | Timothy Lamer

Should it be legal to give away money that belongs to someone else?

That question, though not phrased in those words, is at the heart of an Aug. 28 ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Littlefield. The judge ruled that a New York couple who had filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy could not list charitable contributions as an expense, meaning they wouldn't be allowed to give to charity—including tithes to a church—while they were under bankruptcy protection.

The reason: Last year's bankruptcy reform law, Littlefield said, superceded the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donations Protection Act of 1998, which allowed those in bankruptcy to give to charities and churches. Debtors with incomes above the median would now have to pay their creditors first. "Until Congress amends [last year's law]," Littlefield ruled, "the court's hands are tied and the tithing principles that this court once applied . . . have been effectively mooted."